Majority of Canadians not interested in joining the CAF

[FSTO]

FROM THE CAF INFO MACHINE

Majority of Canadians have no interest in joining the military, DND poll shows

Not interested - RCAF 58%, CA 57%, RCN 61%
Not likely interested - RCAF 21%, CA 22%, RCN 22%

Poll done in Jan and Feb - 3,075 polled

My edit - The sexual scandals have really hurt, but our advertising attempts are shyte as well.

 

[Good2Golf]

Fortunately, the way math works, we don’t need a majority of Canadians joining the CAF. We only need about 0.0158% a year…

 

[Quirky]

Not interested - RCAF 58%, CA 57%, RCN 61%

Poll done in Jan and Feb - 3,075 polled

So we still have 42%, 43% and 39% who ARE interested. Those are good numbers.

Now do police, firefighters, airline pilots and truck drivers as a comparison.

 

[daftandbarmy]

FROM THE CAF INFO MACHINE

Majority of Canadians have no interest in joining the military, DND poll shows

Not interested - RCAF 58%, CA 57%, RCN 61%
Not likely interested - RCAF 21%, CA 22%, RCN 22%

Poll done in Jan and Feb - 3,075 polled

My edit - The sexual scandals have really hurt, but our advertising attempts are shyte as well.

All these people are actually aware of the CAF... at all?

I'd call that a victory

 

[Kirkhill]

So we still have 42%, 43% and 39% who ARE interested. Those are good numbers.

Now do police, firefighters, airline pilots and truck drivers as a comparison.

Unfortunately that is not quite correct. In addition to the half the population that was not at all interested there was another quarter (25%) that wasn't very interested.

So the pool of talent is down to less that 25% of all Canadians - micnus those too young, too old and otherwise ineligible. We start moving to G2G's number.

 

[JLB50]

I think the mainstream media is as much the problem as it is the solution. Certainly sexual exploitation and racism should be addressed, but the take-away message I get from the media coverage is that the CAF is a bad place to be. On top of that the politicians from pretty much all political parties never seem to show much enthusiasm for the job of defending one’s country. It seems better to leave most of our defence to the Americans, much the same as we left it to the Brits in the last century.

So do you blame most people when they don’t have a particularly high opinion of the CAF? One of these days Canada will wake up to what’s happening (or not happening, depending on your viewpoint). But will it be too late?

 

[mariomike]

Now do police, firefighters, airline pilots and truck drivers as a comparison.

I would guess the first three have relatively high retention rates, compared to the CAF.

As for truck drivers, I have read the industry has a poor retention rate, and many are searching for jobs that offer better pay, benefits and working conditions.

That years ago it was considered a better job than now.

The Truck Driver Shortage – The Dirty Truth No One Talks About​

Truck Driver Shortage in 2023: The Dirty Truth No One Talks About

The REAL reasons there is a truck driver shortage. What steps are being taken to end it? Do they intend to EVER do what it takes to end it?

www.smart-trucking.com

On the other hand, ( at least in the U.S. )

Walmart starting pay range for new truck drivers is between $95,000 and $110,000 after wage increase

Walmart is driving up pay for its truck drivers. The retailer announced a driver pay increase and a training program to certify employees as drivers.

www.usatoday.com

 

[dimsum]

A response:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianForces/comments/udsorj/_/i6itsc2

 

[Good2Golf]

Pretty sure most Canadians don’t want to be a politician…for example.

 

[FSTO]

A response:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianForces/comments/udsorj/_/i6itsc2

Embrace what we are, the nation's rapid reaction team. Its open to all and you'll be challenged in unbelievable ways but you'll have a rewarding experience no matter how long you serve.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

And 99% want to be a pop singing sensation.....

And that means as much as the survey.

 

[rmc_wannabe]

Same thing with sanitation workers, janitorial staff, contractors, pipefitters, electricians, etc. Our school systems are often the biggest proponents of avoiding anything blue collar. My son doesn't want to go to university, but has been bandied about the head by his school administration with it as his only option for success in life.

Like most blue collar industries have done, we should open up recruiting to Permanent Residents and Commonwealth applicants. Screen them, employ them, have them take a chunk of money and send it home, or offer citizenship after their first 5 years.

 

[Bluebulldog]

Given that 34% of Canadians plan to retire by winning the lottery....

A steady, growth based career, which offers unique opportunity, pension and benefits...I'd say many of those who weren't in favour don't generally know much about the CAF.

 

[Bluebulldog]

Same thing with sanitation workers, janitorial staff, contractors, pipefitters, electricians, etc. Our school systems are often the biggest proponents of avoiding anything blue collar. My son doesn't want to go to university, but has been bandied about the head by his school administration with it as his only option for success in life.

Like most blue collar industries have done, we should open up recruiting to Permanent Residents and Commonwealth applicants. Screen them, employ them, have them take a chunk of money and send it home, or offer citizenship after their first 5 years.

I once had a conversation with a bunch of teachers at a dinner party....( Longest 3 hours of my life).

Several had a hard time grasping how I made more than them, without benefit of a Uni Degree....

 

[mariomike]

I once had a conversation with a bunch of teachers at a dinner party....( Longest 3 hours of my life).

Several had a hard time grasping how I made more than them, without benefit of a Uni Degree....

Regarding teachers,

Number of Ontario teachers on Sunshine List doubles

The number of Ontario teachers on the Sunshine List more than doubled last year.

torontosun.com

Same thing with sanitation workers, janitorial staff, contractors, pipefitters, electricians, etc. Our school systems are often the biggest proponents of avoiding anything blue collar.

Some prefer clean, inside work with no heavy lifting and a thermostat on the wall.

 

[Bluebulldog]

Oh, Mike, let's not digress down that particular rabbit hole....

We'd be here all day.

Suffice it to say: Years ago many came to the teaching profession after successful careers in other fields. Often taking the year of Teachers College, and then moving into the profession, with a ton of world view knowledge, gained from actually being out in the world.
Now, "Teacher" is a profession unto itself, with many in the role moving from high school, to post secondary, to teachers college, all prior to the age of 25, and many without ever having developed a callus from doing other work.

it is a self perpetuating animal. How can a guidance counselor actually speak to a young adult about options, if they really only have experience with one? The idea of a trade, or the CAF is foreign, despite being highly rewarding, and often resulting in pay scales far above white collar work.

 

[mariomike]

Like most blue collar industries have done, we should open up recruiting to Permanent Residents and Commonwealth applicants. Screen them, employ them, have them take a chunk of money and send it home, or offer citizenship after their first 5 years.

Looks like Permanent Residents can become citizens without serving five years in the military.

Apply for Canadian citizenship - Canada.ca

Apply for Canadian citizenship

www.canada.ca

To become a Canadian citizen, most applicants must

• be a permanent resident
• have lived in Canada for at least 3 out of the last 5 years (1,095 days)
• have filed their taxes
• pass a citizenship test
• prove their language skills in English or French

Although, it has been discussed,

Enroll Permanent Resident / Naturalized Citizen

If you are not born a Canadian citizen, you need to become "naturalized" to become one. The certificate they give you when you become a Canadian would be your naturalization certificate. It's also known as a "Certificate of Canadian Citizenship." It should be the same documentation you gave...

army.ca

12 pages.

accepting commonwealth citizens as the UK does.

Don't quote me on this, but I have a vague memory of reading that somewhere many years ago.

 

[rmc_wannabe]

Some prefer clean, inside work with no heavy lifting and a thermostat on the wall.

And all the power to them. We do have to remember that other facets of our society need to be in place as well.

 

[Underway]

Looks like Permanent Residents can become citizens without serving five years in the military.

Apply for Canadian citizenship - Canada.ca

Apply for Canadian citizenship

www.canada.ca

To become a Canadian citizen, most applicants must

• be a permanent resident
• have lived in Canada for at least 3 out of the last 5 years (1,095 days)
• have filed their taxes
• pass a citizenship test
• prove their language skills in English or French

Although, it has been discussed,

Enroll Permanent Resident / Naturalized Citizen

If you are not born a Canadian citizen, you need to become "naturalized" to become one. The certificate they give you when you become a Canadian would be your naturalization certificate. It's also known as a "Certificate of Canadian Citizenship." It should be the same documentation you gave...

army.ca

12 pages.

Yep, I mentioned this on the other thread but it bears repeating here:

There are fixes for recruitment issues on this. But it requires a whole of government approach that I don't think the Treasury Board or Immigration are willing to change.

• accepting security clearances from Immigration Canada as valid for Basic Training and certain trades, if better security clearances are needed then initiate them at recruiting group and delay their trades training until its valid (Treasury Board Policy)
• accepting non-citizens through a "gain your citizenship program" similar to the USMC or French Foreign Legion (Immigration and Treasury Board Policy)
  • this in particular would require a change in the "points" system to allow people who don't meet the current cream of the crop standards
  • language training like in the Foreign Legion in an official language as part of their recruitment
  • this may go back to the security clearance from earlier. Immigration would accept CAF security clearances to make the new members citizens because we have a higher standard than they do.
• accepting commonwealth citizens as the UK does. This would immediately increase recruiting because Canada pays waaaaaay more then the UK does. All the folks from the Pacific Islands who join the Hussars in the UK would join the RCD's in Canada instead because they send the money back home to the family. And the bonus is they all speak English already.

This would plug recruiting gaps in one year as 1/2 million people come to Canada and need work every year. It would also put us on the very forefront of welcoming new Immigrants. What's more Canadian then that?

 

[daftandbarmy]

I think the mainstream media is as much the problem as it is the solution. Certainly sexual exploitation and racism should be addressed, but the take-away message I get from the media coverage is that the CAF is a bad place to be. On top of that the politicians from pretty much all political parties never seem to show much enthusiasm for the job of defending one’s country. It seems better to leave most of our defence to the Americans, much the same as we left it to the Brits in the last century.

So do you blame most people when they don’t have a particularly high opinion of the CAF? One of these days Canada will wake up to what’s happening (or not happening, depending on your viewpoint). But will it be too late?

I think the heart of the issue might be this:

"There is a great deal of advertising that is much better than the product. When that happens, all that the good advertising will do is put you out of business faster." - Jerry Della Femina